How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 35 severe cases involving ski lifts and gondolas over the last decade. These incidents frequently result in fractures, which account for 50% of all reported injuries, often requiring extensive medical intervention and long-term recovery.
The physical impact of these accidents is significant, with finger injuries being the most common, affecting 21% of cases. You may suffer from severe wounds or amputations, highlighting the dangerous nature of operating and maintaining heavy aerial passenger equipment.
How these injuries happen
Injuries involving ski lifts and gondolas are most often caused by falls to lower levels, which account for 36% of all reported incidents. You are also frequently caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operations, leading to crush injuries and fractures when safety protocols or machine guarding are inadequate.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 12 |
| 2 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 6 |
| 3 | Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment | 2 |
| 4 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 2 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 1 |
| 6 | Fall to lower level resulting from exposure or contact | 1 |
| 7 | Entangled in non-running object | 1 |
| 8 | Struck against stationary object | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
The arts and entertainment industry accounts for 83% of all reported ski lift and gondola injuries. This high concentration is due to the constant operation of passenger transport systems, where routine maintenance and snow clearing tasks place you in direct contact with moving chairs, cables, and mechanical pulleys.
Real cases like yours
Reported incidents frequently involve you performing routine maintenance, clearing snow from safety equipment, or operating manual cable systems. Common themes include harness failures during tower work, limbs becoming trapped in rollers, and you being struck by moving chairs while clearing debris. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you evaluate your claim.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ID | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee had just completed routine work on a gondola tower. The employee's harness was hooked to the tower and when the work cabin pulled away, he swung back toward the tower, the clasp broke, and he fell about 74 feet. He suffered a broken right hip, five broken ribs, three broken vertebrae, and a laceration on the back of his head. He was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | CO | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was preparing a mini-carpet lift for the day and brushing snow off of it when it caught his hand and pulled his arm into a roller. The employee sustained multiple fractures to the right arm and was hospitalized. " | |
| 2025 | NY | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was attempting to clear snow off a "willy bag" (a safety bag to put under unseated passengers for the lift) when he was struck by a moving chair. The employee sustained multiple fractured ribs and a pneumothorax." | |
| 2024 | OH | Health Care | "An employee was teaching children how to use a zip line at a city playground. As the employee began to zip along the line, the clip disconnected. The employee fell to the ground and sustained a broken right femur." | |
| 2024 | NH | Other Services | "An employee was conducting basic level 1 trail maintenance with a crew. The injured employee was operating a manual cable car intended to assist trail users in safely crossing a brook. His right hand became caught between the pulley system and cable where the car pulley sits and travels along. The employee sustained a crush injury, resulting in a partial fingertip amputation to the index finger." | |
| 2024 | FL | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was zip-lining between two elevated platforms when he fell approximately 17 feet to the tile floor below. The employee suffered fractures to their skull and knee and was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | WV | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was completing a walk-around inspection of a ski lift. A lift chair struck the employee and knocked them from the platform to the ground. The employee suffered a broken kneecap and was hospitalized, requiring surgery." | |
| 2021 | MT | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was riding a ski lift to the top of the slope. The employee fell while exiting the lift and sustained broken ribs and loss of oxygen." | |
| 2021 | NY | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was in a ski lift loading area. She was holding two bags. One of the bag handles broke, and as she reached down to grab the bag, her left knee twisted and the lift chair hit her buttock. She suffered a fracture to the upper part of the left tibia, at the knee." | |
| 2021 | NY | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was entering the motor room vault at the top of a ski lift. The employee became entangled in conveyor equipment that transported riders to the snow-tubing lanes. The employee suffered multiple fractures to the face and left arm." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Seek immediate medical attention and ensure your employer files an official incident report. Document the scene, take photos of the equipment involved, and identify any witnesses who saw the accident. An attorney can help you understand how to protect your rights and ensure your claim is properly filed.
Employers are responsible for maintaining safe equipment and providing adequate training for all lift operations. If an injury occurred because of a failure to guard machinery or a lack of proper safety protocols, your employer may be held accountable. An attorney can help you evaluate whether negligence played a role in your specific case.
Workers' Compensation is designed to cover medical expenses and lost wages for work-related injuries, including fractures sustained on the job. Because these injuries often require surgery and physical therapy, it is important to ensure your claim accurately reflects the full extent of your medical needs. An attorney can help you verify that your benefits are being calculated correctly.
The most frequent causes include falls from heights, entanglement in moving parts like rollers or pulleys, and being struck by moving chairs. These accidents often stem from mechanical failures or the absence of necessary safety guards. An attorney can help you determine if your injury resulted from a violation of standard safety requirements.